MIDTERM ELECTIONS

This November 6th, the current term general elections, was one of the most important elections this decade, next to the 2016 Presidential election. Though unprecedented, there were multiple results that left both parties astonished. The GOP took control of the Senate, while the House was taken by the Democrats, according to Geoffrey Skelley and Julia Wolfe of FiveThirtyEight, in their article summarizing the election on a national scale.

Staticians and political analysts were expecting big changes in Congress: a “Blue Wave”, where the Democratic party would have taken total control over congress. According to Maureen Groppe, a Washington correspondent from USA Today, in their article and analysis of the midterm elections, the blue typhoon did not occur. The Democratic Party was able to flip three states—Indiana, Missouri, and North Dakota—that had voted for Trump in the 2016 Presidential Election. Democrats were also able to gain 39 House seats, 27 of which were called early, reassuring dominance in the House. It is important to note that there were multiple states that had a tense, high margin decision. ​

According Kirk Goldsberry of FiveThirtyEightwho covered the Texas Senate race, Ted Cruz (R) and Beto O’Rourke (D), was one of the closest in the entire election. Texas, since 1988, has been a red (Republican) state and thus always been called early for Republican takeover. This year, though, Texas was one of the states that took the longest to get an estimate of the winning candidate, giving hope to the Democrats for a chance of flipping the state. In the end, Ted Cruz was deemed the electee, and Beto O’Rourke was left as an example of the potential Texas has into becoming a purple state, a state that could either vote Republican or Democrat, when the presidential elections happen.​​According to Andrew Prokop, Tara Golshan, and Ryan Mark of Vox, who covered the Florida Midterm and Gubernatorial elections, a similar situation occurred in Florida. Ron DeSantis (R) beat his opponent, Andrew Gillum (D), by less that one percent. Gillum would have been Florida’s first black Governor and definitely would have given the Democrats more control over Florida. Gillum, however, conceded, election night, according to Glenn Thrush and Liam Stack of The New York Times. Rick Scott (R) also won the Senate race for Florida. However, Florida still stands as an unpredictable purple state. When asked about these results, some students felt unconfident in Rick Scott’s leadership: Sam Isenberg, 12th grade, felt that Rick Scott, “was ineffective as a governor, so he will be as a Senator.”

This midterm election has left a very divided Congress and both parties with a sense of hope for the 2020 presidential election. Even though Republicans lost the House, they won Ohio and Florida, two of the most important swing states, according to Maureen Groppe of USA Today. Even though Democratic favorites like Beto O’Rourke and Stacy Abrams lost, Democrats are taking back states that were previously won by Trump in 2016. If the Midterm elections are any signifier for the 2020 Presidential elections, it’s definitely going to be a close one.